The present application relates to trash containers, and in particular relates to portable containers to facilitate the collection of trash and debris found on the ground.
Trash and other debris such as leaves falling from trees in autumn are frequently found scattered on the ground and in need of collection. Existing devices have a number of problems. Trash bags alone are floppy and do not stay open readily, frequently requiring two hands to hold them open. This does not leave a hand free to collect the item to be placed in the bag. Trashcans, although rigid, are bulky and cumbersome to move when collecting debris over a wide area, as along a highway. They are also difficult to transport and store.
Some portable solutions for this problem exist. For instance, both Langley (U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,061) and Passage (U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2004/0195467) disclose a bag holder for facilitating collection of trash and leaves which can hold a bag open and provide a handle for a user.
However, users of these designs are likely to suffer considerable fatigue if they must carry them for long periods. The handle is located on one edge of the trash bag, and the result of this design is that entire torque exerted on the handle by the weight of the trash is borne by the wrist of the user. As the bag fills, it gets heavier and causes fatigue in muscles not adapted to holding heavy loads.
Moe (U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,271) shows a bag secured to a frame by elastic, the frame having two holes to accept trash and a handle between the holes to facilitate transportation. This design does not suffer from the torque problem, because the handle is horizontal and near the likely balance point for the trash in the bag. However, the openings of the Moe design, while adequate for picking up small pieces of trash in a park or on a highway, are poorly placed and too small to permit a user to easily rake or scoop large quantities of debris, such as autumn leaves.
What is needed, then, is a holder for a trash bag which is both comfortable for a user to hold for extended periods and versatile enough to be used for a variety of trash-removal operations.